Winds Of Fire
by MariNisharo
Summary: Scarlett Tesla embarks on her journey to find Shaun with Paladin Danse at her side. Through her hardships in becoming one of the members of the Brotherhood of Steel and her quest to find her son, relationships are created and torn down. When she is forced to choose who she is faithful to, she rises to power and claims her spot in the new world. Some could say she became a Queen.
1. Secrets Bound in a Friendship

**Author's Note:** I do not own anything except the plot away from the main Story Line and the idea of my Original character 'Scarlett Tesla'. There are major spoilers in my story, and I ask you to read at your own risk to spoiling the plot for yourself. There may be errors in my writing, please if you could let me know so that I may fix them, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and please enjoy.

 **Extended Summary:** Scarlett Tesla embarks on her journey, after fighting Kellogg, to find young Shaun with Paladin Danse at her side. Through her hardships in becoming one of the members of the Brotherhood of Steel, the awkwardness of her dumb side missions and her quest to find her son, relationships are created and torn down through many forms with many friends and loved ones. When she is forced to choose who she is faithful to, she rises to power and claims her spot in the new world. Some could say she became a Queen and made a name for herself in the rogue of the Commonwealth. Focuses around the Sole Survivor and her travels with Paladin Danse, Scribe Haylen has a major role along with Preston Garvey. Many other characters play as minor characters or just are mentioned briefly. There are extreme *spoilers* and Vulgar Language along with graphic violence and sexual themes.

Secrets Bound in a Friendship

It's been a long time since I stepped out of vault 111. About three months or so have passed and I am not very much closer to finding Shaun. I had gone through so much trouble and only managed to blow his kidnapper's brains to bits and learned about the teleportation used by the Institute. After my missions with Nick, I had hit a dead end… I could do nothing but try to make my residential area more livable.. Codsworth has been an extremely valuable helper in terms of keeping the pests at bay.

I had fallen into a sort of depression, sadly building things with the other settlers in sanctuary. I had fixed up my old house to the best of my ability with the help of a few of my companions and had even grown a garden in the back yard with tatos, razorgrain, corn, some melons of different sorts and mutfruit. It was a pretty nice garden I suppose, it fed us nicely after the fruits were cooked as somehow that removed most of the dangers of the food. The wonders of the Commonwealth had never seemed to make sense..

I luckily picked up some really useful weapons and began to start working in my skills, not that they were bad or anything, but Nick says that I have an overly itchy trigger finger and I run head first into danger at the wrong times. Apparently itchy trigger finger and bad aim are a sure fire way to waste ammunition. Looting every container or dead raider I find only proves I should find different weapons as I've noticed all the ammunition I pick up is usually not the right kind. I still keep it, better I have it than some psychotic raider. Lucky for myself that I have plenty of storage at sanctuary because I pick up way more than I can carry usually.

I usually scrap pieces of armor for various building materials, but if in the event I was not close to sanctuary, I have to sell the extras. It's nice to bring home caps for the settlement, it's always useful to have some handy when running low on ammo, which sadly is a lot.

After killing Kellogg in a blind rage and then having a pity party afterwards, Nick escorted me to the upper part of the building we had cleared. Standing on the roof we heard a giant airship approach and continue to repeat some message. I had paid little attention to the loud voice and continued my way to the memory den only to learn about teleportation. That is one thing I was lost on trying to wrap my head around. How was I supposed to teleport myself into the Institute? I was angry and went out alone into the wilderness of the Commonwealth.

Finding the biggest raider group and barging in like I owned the place. Letting out a scream of rage, I took my mini gun that was given to me while helping the remaining members of the minutemen and started expending ammunition wherever the sound of voices emitted from. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks as I continued my battle cry of rage. The raiders were dead long before I had wasted all my ammo, as my blind fury had kept me from realizing that everyone was already dead. When I did finally realize so, I had dropped to my knees and wept like the sad sorry woman I was.

* * *

Unknown to the sole survivor, she was being watched by a woman who was quite important. She had watched this dark haired woman with a scar across her face shoot up a whole group of raiders like they were nothing. This woman's sheer fury was impressive as the guttural battle cry was heard above the minigun she lifted so easily. _What strength and fury.. That woman just shot up this huge group of raiders like they were nothing but a few radroaches. I really hope she is not a danger to our mission. Is.. is that woman crying?.._ This sneaky woman had to duck quickly as a spray of bullets went past her, hitting metal fences and embedding into the wooden fortifications of the gate. Once she ran out of bullets, she sank to the ground and onto her knees and wept. _She is clearly not a threat. No kind of threat would leave themselves out in the open sobbing on their knees. There is no way she will live very long, especially now she is out of ammunition._

* * *

While I sat there and cried briefly, I could have sworn that I heard a bout of laughter. Which was not nice if someone was actually laughing at me cry. I yelled "Don't laugh at me! This is not funny! You don't know my pain!" I stood up and pointed my gun around hoping that someone didn't know I had no bullets left. Whatever the case, there was some rattling and then silence. I had ditched my minigun and pulled out a sword I bought from a woman who had inhabited a diner. I named it 'Serrated Revenge'. It was just a normal sword with serrated edges, which was nice for ripping and tearing. It went through ghouls like butter and had even helped me out cutting my dinner.

I walked around searching the raiders for anything of value. I really did a number on them by ruining their armor and most of their belongings. Their caps were still good, and there were plenty of them, I also took most of their ammunition, well I couldn't carry the missiles that some of them had so I had to leave them.

I walked on for a long time, probably sometimes in circles, from someone else's point of view I would probably look lost. I walk around honestly enjoying Boston, maybe my vision is clouded with nostalgia, but I'm enjoying my time out in the city. It's not the same as it used to be, not even close, but some buildings are still in tact and some still have the signs. It was really beautiful back then. I still had Serrated Revenge in my hand, but I twirled it around like a cane, humming to the diamond city radio. I couldn't help but laugh at some of the irony in the songs, 'Atom Bomb Baby' particularly made me laugh.

I heard distant gunfire and decided I should maybe check it out. I did of course take my sweet old time and definitely didn't want to stick around on the ground in case it was a super mutant, I never really felt bad about killing them, but it weighed heavy on my soul killing animals, like the mutant hounds. I made a vantage point on the top of a building and looked through the scope of my useless Laser rifle that had no ammunition.

I could see in the distance the Cambridge Police Station, with some fortifications around the front and a bunch of Lasers firing in multiple directions. I sat on the roof of this old building for a while watching the fight, I couldn't see who was fighting though. The fighting didn't stop. I sat for a few hours munching on some crispy squirrel bits and sipping some Nuka Cola. I decided it was time to go help whoever was fighting because it was obviously important from the length. Climbing down from the building and sneaking my way over, I finally got to the barrier of the station, and peered around one of the walls.

A flash of red light and blood splattered near me. I jumped out from behind the wall with my sword ready. Slicing my way through the feral ghouls was pretty easy, there were quite a lot of them though. After what seemed like forever went by, I had cut down the last ghoul. I was quite winded and was really wishing I didn't drink all my Nuka Cola on that rooftop.

Dragging me out of my thoughts was the loud stomping of metal clad feet. I looked up and the tall man in his mech suit and a silly looking hood. I wonder if this man has hair or if his hood is because he doesn't have any. Well my point being that he looks very silly. My god, his eyebrows were the pinnacle of laughter, and I almost let my giddy laughter out. That probably would have been bad because he already looks really upset.

"Identify yourself and your intentions wastelander." He looked incredibly mad, but I could be mistaking it for his intense love of this Wasteland as many seem to put off that vibe. I was very hesitant to answer this mech suit man, but eventually his intense stare made me uncomfortable enough to answer. "My name is Margaret Wilson, sir!" I gave a mock pose of a salute like a soldier would when a dressing his superior. He obviously did not find it very funny as there was no laughter.

I did hear some laughter from behind him a ways. Damn, I recognize that laughter, but from where I don't know. It suddenly dawned on me and I spat out "You laughed at me earlier! That was so not alright!" The woman seemed extremely surprise. I was about to walk over and scold that woman when the metal man stepped in front of me, "You still have not stated your intentions." He was very insistent. "Well I sat and watched you fight for a few hours, and when I figured it seemed important, I wandered over here and thought I would help out."

He didn't seem to believe me, but I would not let it bother me. I held up my sword and got a goofy grin on my face, "It's my best ghoul weapon! Here, try it!" I handed it to him and he looked at it for a few moments then handed it back. He said nothing, but a nosy woman broke the awkward silence, "Please don't be bothered by his harshness. This is Paladin Danse, and I am Scribe Haylen, and that over there is Night Rhys. I apologize for my earlier laughter." she turned to Paladin Danse, "Danse, please be nice, she's the reason that Rhys is alive and your armor is still relatively in once piece."

He gave way to Haylen, "Fine, Haylen, take Rhys and go fix him up. I'll have a chat with Margaret Wilson." I never should have told him that fake name, but I guess it's better than giving away my real identity. "Please, you can just call me Tesla, Sir." He gave my an odd look but seemed to dismiss my foolish lie. "Tesla, please follow me into the station." I went with him into the station and watched Haylen work on Rhys. I got bored waiting for something to happen, really anything would be a great way to break the tension in the air. I picked up a rag and began to polish Serrated Revenge, along with sharpening the edges.

After about half an hour, it was sharper than when I first got it and shinier than I've ever seen it, but my next kill will paint it red I'm sure-are glowing green depending on the enemy. Haylen must have finished patching up Rhys because she came over to inspect my sword, "May I?" She had an eye for amazing trinkets, she seemed very impressed. I handed it over to her and watched her inspect the edges. She glanced over her shoulder and relaxed her pose, she began to swing it around and make whooshing noises. She smiled and seemed to have a good time swinging at invisible enemies.

"I'll show you what it was like in my time!" I took the sword back and began to make ninja noises and swing the sword as of I was a samurai. Her look of amazement was enough to make my day, she looked on with wide eyes and a huge grin. "And this is what we called Kung Fu," I did some kicks and chops in the air making sure to include the noises. "I would be called a samurai because I have the sword, but using your bare hands, we would be called a Kung-Fu master."

I am not going to lie, I did a bad thing, and I let my era slip in my giddiness. "What do you mean by 'your time'?" Haylen seemed extremely confused, maybe even more than confused. "Well.." I began, "I'm not from this time.. I'm from before the war.." She immediately interjected, "Before the war!" I made a motion to get her to quiet down. "Yes, I'm from before the war. I was frozen, many people were without knowing it. I'm from vault 111." She seemed to have calmed down but then the look of awe on her face signaled that I would answer thousands of questions.

Thousands of questions was off, way off. Whenever Haylen and I were alone, I would get more and more questions and have to give out many explanations. She particularly asked about things we did for fun, and about ninjas. I even taught her some ninja noises and we went out every day to play with swords and antagonize the ghouls. Paladin Danse had me stay around because Rhys was still out if action and I was quite helpful. I knew he also liked to see Haylen so happy to have somebody new around. I bet he didn't know why she thought I was so interesting.


	2. Almost Forced Recruitment

Almost Forced Recruitment

Eventually Rhys started to get well again, and his wounds were close to gone. He was not action ready yet, but he could at least help defend against ghouls that got too close to the station. I had brought plenty of food with me and was very happy to share with everyone here at the station. I had brought many cans of food and a few other containers with meat.

For another reason I will never understand the Commonwealth, the meat I collected never spoiled. It was like the McDougall burger patties that would stay perfectly fine after months of staying out. I didn't want to give it much thought, and continued to pass out the meats I have grabbed from the Deathclaw defeated with the Minutemen. I had also taken the trophy of its horns, which had 'somehow' made their way to a workbench and became part of a nifty piece of headwear I had left on my desk as a paperweight.

While eating dinner with my new friend, Paladin Danse walked in and asked to have a word with me briefly, I got up and followed him into the back room. "Tesla, I have given it some thought, I wish to have you join the Brotherhood, but I must first test your skills." He looked like he was waiting for a response from me, but then continued when there was none. "Scribe Haylen needs a Deep Range Transmitter so we can call for reinforcements. Rules say you should never go on a mission alone, and since Night Rhys is still out of commission, I must leave him here with Scribe Haylen. I wish for you to accompany me to ArcJet Systems and get when is needed."

Of course I told him yes, what kind of terrible person would say no? I had helped myself to ammunition from the back room and had sharpened my sword. On the way to ArcJet we had encountered some feral ghouls and raiders. My laser rifle now had ammo and was useful for more than a scope. It was very powerful and could usually kill a raider with one hit, ghouls were no problem either. It was fun to have a companion, I did worry less about dying.

We finally reached ArcJet systems, which was overrun by the Institute's synths. We went in guns blazing and flipping power switches along the way. The number of Synths was way over the amount I was ready to handle, and when we were met with the next wave of Synths that I had not expected, I believe the words that came from me could make sailors blush. I had been hiding and firing whenever I could, but in the hallways where there was really nowhere to hide, all I could do was yell and frantically try to dodge their lasers.

I dodged a few, but one of them hit me in my shoulder. It just barely clipped me, but the blood still came. I had yelped and Danse looked at me briefly enough to see the scared look on my face and blood began to stain my silver shroud costume. "Stay behind me!" He yelled as we continued further into this synth-infested building. Finally we reached a rocket engine test firing room, it seemed that if we wanted to go anywhere we had to restore power to the engine core. I had found another activation switch and headed to the terminal in the back of the room.

I turned to Danse, who was on the other side of the thick glass in the room with the engine, I mouthed the words "Do you think this will restore power to the engine?" He nodded and I went to the terminal and put my delicate lady hands to work trying the various combinations of symbols to narrow my word options. Finally I got the letters right and got in, I snooped around a little and finally restored the power. I turned around to see Danse quickly slip on his power armor helmet and turn to the Synths that began running into the room. I ran to go help him and slipped on an old clipboard that was lying on the floor.

My hand connected with some sort of button and I hit the floor. The booming voice over the announcement speakers began to count down, which gave me just enough time to look up over the control desk through the window. A blue light began to emit from the engine. Flames came shooting out of it, so bright from the white-hot intensity. The Synths began to melt and turn to ashes, Danse was kneeled on the ground using his gun as a support. The Synths were all gone, the engine had shut off and cooled significantly. I ran into the room and instantly began to feel the effects; hot air and the smell of burning everything.

Ashes kicked up from where my feet connected with the covered ground. I ran to his side and kneeled down next to him, being extremely careful not to touch his armor, which must be just as hot as the flames. I'm surprised that it was still in tact. "Om My God! Are you alright?!" I yelled at him with tears in my eyes, this was all my fault. "I'm alright, if it wasn't for my suit, I would be looking like them." I was overjoyed that he was ok, I could have hugged him, I would most likely have suffered third degree burns, but I would have also deserved it.

After a few moments his suit had cooled and he took off his helmet. He set the thing down and left it there, "I won't be needing this anymore, and the heat cracked the glass and fried some of the circuitry that ran the computer." I walked over and hit the elevator button. I gestured for Danse to walk in and he gladly did, anything to get him out of that room. Danse seemed a little apprehensive, "Be careful, the Institute may be after the deep range transmitter as well." I nodded and stepped into the elevator and pushed the button. I took precaution and had Danse stand in front of me for when the door opened.

The elevator opened up slowly to the control room, surely enough, there were synths here too. Headshots were all that was necessary, Danse killed the first two and I shot the one carrying the device Haylen needed. I ran up quickly and grabbed it making sure to carefully put it in my inventory, which was just a dinky little backpack. The walk back from ArcJet was peaceful, we encountered no trouble and had even turned my Pip-Boy to the Diamond City radio and had been humming along to the songs.

I walked proudly to the door of the Cambridge police station and handed my newly found tech to Haylen. she accepted it with a smile and wanted to hear all about my mission, she would have heard about everything if my bloody shoulder wasn't a priority. She went to work with the medical supplies and I just let her do what she felt was best. When all was well, we had our dinners and I was put on night watch duty with Danse. While in the midnight hours of watch duty, the usual sounds of distant gunfire had died down and all was very quiet. A Deathclaw in the distance had probably been fighting some raiders and had extinguished all their lives.

I had my pip-boy tuned to Diamond City radio still, listening to the music from my time was nice, and it reminded me of home. My shoulder was still hurt, though I guess it would have been dumb to think it would heal so fast; I had to carry my gun in my left hand, which was bad since that is not the arm with good aim. Paladin Danse must have seen that I was in pain because he came over and began to look over my shoulder, like it didn't hurt enough and I needed more fingers poking at it. "Tesla, I would like to say you did a rather good job out there, as I would like to invite you into the Brotherhood. Now that the transmitter will be working, we can have a team pick us up and have you taken aboard the Prydwen. Your shoulder could use better medical attention and we have a mighty fine doctor up there."

I didn't say much in response to Danse, I gave him an 'OK' which seemed to be the right answer. When the morning was here, Haylen came to take my position and I went and slept on the floor of the weapons room. Breakfast came and went but I had eaten nothing, maybe from loss of blood or lack of sleep, I was in no way ready to leave the comforts of the floor. I did not even require a mattress or a sleeping bag, all I needed was a flat surface to sleep. nothing could have moved me from my claimed bit of floor, well except Danse who was angry to see me blocking the entrance to the Ammunition. I reluctantly walked myself to the main room and slept in a corner.

After my long nap, I was awoken by Haylen who said that Paladin needed to talk with me immediately. I could only wonder what it was that he wanted, but I would find out soon enough. Reporting to him was very boring as all he ever seemed to talk about was the Brotherhood, which was all I ever heard about whenever I was near the station. Haylen and I still talked about ninjas and my era, but as there was little free time and people always walking around, there was less and less time for that sort of stuff.

I had bet Paladin Danse on the roof of the station and was very surprised to see a large helicopter perched on the roof with several people spilling out of it, most of them being people anyway, there were a few soldiers in mech suits. I found Danse quickly as he was the only guy in a mech without a helmet. "Rhys and Haylen have some errands to run, but first I thought I should take you to see Elder Maxson and get you officially in the brotherhood. There will be some training involved, but I've seen you in action and you will do fine, maybe even become a night rather quickly.

I was ushered onto a Vertibird and belted myself into the seat, and I would say rather tightly because riding in the Vertibird was terrifying. I have faced many beasts in the Commonwealth, but no Deathclaw or Mongrel could ever stand up to the fright of flying in an open Vertibird. I had no idea that the Prydwen was that big metal ship I saw when having myself that pity party, it was a massive metal ship that I was in complete disbelief it was still in the air. How they could ever keep the giant mass of metal in the air was beyond me. I looked at it and then back at Paladin Danse, he had a smile on his face and seemed very happy to be back here. I guess this was home for him. Home… Shaun… this may have been a happy time for Danse, but it brought on a sadness like before, as I had not gotten any closer to finding Shaun and restarting my life as a happy mother I had once dreamed of being.

Standing on the flight deck was just as bad as being in the Vertibird, it was way high up in the air, and the wind that whipped my long hair around was bone chilling and had made me sick. Danse put a hand on my shoulder and nodded pointing me to the door of the ship. I walked over to it hanging onto the rails of dear life. Once inside I felt better, but only because I could pretend I was on the ground in a metal base. I walked to where Danse had pointed me, a big room with a wall of just glass windows. there goes all my pretending and confidence. A man stood looking out the window and turned around when he heard the metal clad footsteps of Paladin. He greeted me and had asked me to tour the Prydwen and meet all my new brothers and sisters, as it would make me a more 'Effective Soldier'. He was extremely arrogant man, it was a vibe he put off extremely well. I would hope to not need many conversations with him.

I went around the Prydwen saying hi to nights and waving to the scribes that were nose deep in work. I had a list of some of the people who would help me if I needed it, I went first to a man name Proctor Teagan who ran their little supply store. He had an arsenal of weapons there and a wall of ammunition; I was thoroughly impressed with the man. we chatted for a little while before he had to deal with some incoming food orders. I was next on my way to talk to Knight-Captain Cade who was in the sickbay. I apparently needed a 'checkup' which I did not really feel was necessary because I had very little radiation exposure, I mean I certainly wasn't a ghoul despite being as old as one.

He asked some rather extremely personal questions to which I replied all that was necessary, leaving out my real age of course because I had a feeling I shouldn't mention I was over two hundred years old. My talk with Proctor Quinlan was very short, as he just asked me to find him Technical documents and to search every building I walked into, then I was shooed out because he was busy. I was to report to someone named Proctor Ingram to look at some power armor and maybe get myself fitted for some. I walked up to see a woman in power armor herself working on a suit. she looked very frazzled, maybe her work was never really complete and she was always running around working for others.

"You must be the new initiate, I haven't seen you around, so you must be her. Paladin Danse asked me to get you set up in some power armor of your own, so I'll get working on it, we don't have any extras but I can get one together. See me about it in a week or so? that will give you time to finish your training and what not. you can look at the armor and see what model you prefer, and after you have your armor you can put in for a different model." she seemed so nice, it was a little unnerving that her power armor walked in it's own, as she didn't have legs, power armor must be really amazing.

I walked through the Prydwen on my own for a while before I finally bumped into Paladin Danse. He still looked very happy, and was still in his armor, which I believed to be unnecessary, but he must be uncomfortable without it. "How was the tour? Do you like her? The best technology to stay airborne this long," He must have seen my immediate look of worry because after he quickly said, "but don't worry, Proctor Ingram and the maintenance crew won't let a problem happen, this thing can stay airborne as long as Proctor Ingram wants her to." That still didn't make me feel any better.

He picked up the conversation again, "We still have those errands for Haylen and Rhys, and we can go there and begin your training like that. It would be easier than doing the boot camp sort of program for the new initiates. We can start by going to the Coverga Power Plant and clearing the place of raiders and picking up a piece of equipment for Haylen." I was ready to go on another mission. Anything to distract me from my previous hardships was a welcoming quest. Raiders were no trouble, but my shoulder still hurt because I never got it looked at; something about doctors made me nervous and I did not wish to go to one.

A Vertibird took us to the outside of the power plant and helped us shoot down all the raiders outside. The inside would be my real mission. I had done rather well, I got shot once, but it just skimmed my calf and left only a bruise. The whole thing went rather smoothly without a hitch. We grabbed the tech for Haylen and continued our way around the plant and gathered all the caps and ammo. We had to walk to the Police station to give this thing back to Haylen. I studied it while I walked, not sure what it was. "Danse, what is this thing? What do we need it for?" He took it from me and examined it while trudging on. "I think it's a flux sensor, but I'm not quite sure."

I was thinking about what they could be using the tech for when I stepped on something, as soon as I removed my foot I heard the ominous beeping. Danse, who was a few feet in front of me heard it too and yelled "Run Tesla! Run!" My instincts kicked in, but I did not run like he commanded, instead I reached down and clicked the top again and the beeping stopped. I picked it up and examined it with curiosity, "Is this a mine? They had way more advanced once back then. Here, maybe you can use it" I handed it to him once the surprise left his face. "Tesla, how did you know what to do?" He really was clueless, "This is such basic technology, really. They are easy to disarm, the ones before had been way more complex." He seemed to think about it, get frustrated and began walking in the direction we had been previously walking.

The rest of the walk was bitter quiet. I don't understand why he was so mad… All I did was save my legs from being blown off and the splattering of blood all around, I don't see what harm I actually did. On the way back it started to get dark. We ended up making our way to the station a little faster. The darkness provided cover from the feral ghouls that prowled the streets of the Cambridge Square. We made it to the station and in the doors just as Haylen got up to have dinner. Handing her the flux sensor, I was ready for dinner myself.

Dinner was the usual, creature meat and fruit. That was all everyone ate here, things they grew with creatures they hunted. You couldn't go to the store and pick out a box of high priced cereal and go an aisle over to grab the freshest of milk. This new place was toxic, everything you looked at could kill you-the creatures, the people, the plants, the water, and even the air you breathe could kill. I had grown used to the dangers of the Commonwealth but I missed the old days; the old days where the most dangerous thing you could encounter was the salesman who would talk your ears off.

There were more people at the station now, a few more Scribes and a handful of Initiates and even a few Knights in power armor. They brought in a few real beds, one of which I was happy to claim as my own for the night. Sleeping on a real bed was pretty nice, it beat the floor any day, although, not that I'm complaining, but this mattress was very dusty and was not preserved very well sadly. The springs were a little uncomfortable, but as soon as my cheek touched that musty pillow, I was out for the count.


	3. A Good Night In Good Neighbor

A Good Night In Good Neighbor

Haylen woke me up very early, the sun had not even risen yet. She casually explained that Rhys needed something and I should go talk to him before he goes to bed. I dragged myself from the mattress and went to go talk to the perpetually grumpy Knight. My talk was short as his anger level was high and his profanity usage was higher. In short, I would have to walk my way to Faneuil Hall with Danse and destroy all the Supermutants there then walk all the way back to the station. He said if Danse and I were lucky that maybe we could hitch a ride home on a passing Vertibird, but the chances were small as there weren't many missions over in that area.

I walked over to where Paladin had been working, he was stocking ammunition and cleaning the weapons. "Knight Rhys sent me here to talk to you about his mission, you are still accompanying me, right?" He did not even look up from the weapon he was polishing, "Correct, we leave when the sun comes up. That gives us approximately twenty minutes. Get ready, it's going to be a long walk." Only twenty minutes… that's enough time to eat I suppose and pack ammunition for my laser rifle, but I had really wished for a little down time to relax or consult Nick about my son.

My twenty minutes went by rather quickly as I inhaled my breakfast and ran to the front of the station, bumping into a Knight in power armor and hearing the unwelcome clang of my body hitting the cold hard metal of the suit on the way. I met Paladin Danse outside by the wooden fortifications ready to go, only slightly sore from bumping into that Knight. We began our journey of the extremely long walk to Faneuil Hall. I have walked pretty far before, I had walked from Sanctuary Hills all the way to Diamond City, this was somewhat the same, except more dangerous and with a companion moodier than an analogy I can think of.

Our walk was in silence as we did our best to sneak past possible enemies like raiders and ghouls. We had walked for a very long time, very quietly and with no breaks. By the time we got to the district around Goodneighbor, it was already beginning to get dark and it looked like it would rain soon. "Excuse me, Paladin Danse." He was several steps ahead of me as I was having trouble keeping up, but turned around and waited for me to catch up. "Yes Tesla?" "I need a break, I cannot go on much longer walking like this, we are around Goodneighbor, I know my way from here, and please can we take a break and rest the night there?" "Goodneighbor? The place run by a Ghoul? You want to go there and rest? In a place with Ghouls?"

Danse finally agreed that we could go to Goodneighbor and rest for the night, but at my expense. I was well known in Goodneighbor and was welcome anytime, especially since I was the living Silver Shroud. I wore the costume everywhere I went, it provided surprisingly a lot of protection and was quite stylish. Danse on the other hand was a man in a big metal suit who had a knack for hating ghouls. Bringing Danse into Goodneighbor made me somewhat nervous, but I was sure it would be fine.

Hancock was there to greet me and then asked a little about Paladin Danse and got some terrible remarks at Hancock. They parted ways with some very dirty glares and we went our own ways, Hancock to go do some of his business and I took Danse to the Inn.

We paid the woman who ran the Inn ten caps and walked up to the room that was ours. I laid down my backpack on the floor next to the door and planted myself on the bed. I was almost asleep when I heard the awkward throat clearing of my companion. I opened my eyes and realized why there was awkwardness-there was only one bed, albeit a king size one, there was only one. "I dragged you here, you can have the bed." I walked over to where my pack was and sat on the floor trying to get comfortable. "Tesla, are you actually being serious right now? You expect me to just take the bed and let you sleep on the floor?" I nodded.

Terrible idea on my part. Sleeping on the floor was terrible. I did fall asleep eventually, a stiff position with my sword across my chest. The night was terrible, it rained and stormed all night, lightning and thunder every minute or so. While I was sleeping, Danse must have got out of his armor, because he was fast asleep in the bed and the armor was standing awkwardly in the corner of the room. I had never seen him before without his armor, I at one point believed he never took it off. Dwelling on this seemed to be of no real use. After another fifteen minutes of trying to get comfortable and faint miserably, I decided, against my better judgment that I would very silently get into the bed and sleep there.

The idea was a lot easier than the action as every step I took sounded like metal clad boots were stuck on me feet. I must have been extremely quiet though because Danse was still asleep in the middle of the bed quietly breathing. Very carefully I had lifted the blanket, glad to see he still had his brotherhood jumpsuit on, and very carefully crawled onto the bed leaving as much space between Paladin Danse and I as possible. The bed was gross, stained with who knows what and smelled pretty bad as well. This, as bad as it was, is a lot better than the floor, and sleep found me rather quickly this way.

I must have been asleep for a only short time, apparently my company in the bed was less than appreciated. When Danse had turned around, he bumped into me, which earned a yelp from him and an unwelcome meeting between the cold hard floor and my half asleep face. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked over the bed, "Tesla, what are you doing? Didn't you want to sleep on the floor?" He gave me a sly look. "The floor isn't as comfortable or inviting as I had first thought…" I'm lucky Danse seemed to have some sort of soft spot in his heart for dumb initiates as he just scooted over to the other side and turned to face the wall. I got back in making sure to stay as far to my side as possible, sleep was again quick to find me.

In the morning I awoke to an empty room, Paladin Danse was nowhere to be found in the Inn and seemed to have been gone for quite a while. I took a walk outside with all my things close at my side, I decided to pay Hancock a visit since yesterday did not go over so well with Danse in tow. I walked up to the doors of the old statehouse and just let myself in hoping at least he would be around and not in the middle of a Chem party. I was glad to have caught him at the right time, he seemed to be enjoying himself with two floozy women, one on each side. "Why if it isn't my favourite super hero, what brings you here Tesla?" I waited quietly until he dismissed his two-cent hoes.

Hancock knew I was The Silver Shroud; he thought it was hilarious actually, pretending he had no idea who I was as I talked in the deepened voice of the Shroud. At first I thought he was serious, the large scar on my face gave away my identity whenever I tried to be secret. I'm never did understand why we pretended or why we still completely discount that I wear the costume all day every day. I would occasionally greet him in the voice of the Shroud every time I came to have Kent improve it. I sat on the couch and made myself comfortable, figuring I would be here a rather long while like usual.

"I'm really sorry about yesterday Hancock, my partner is just really bigoted at times…" I did feel truly sorry for him for having to deal with Mr. Insensitive. He stood across the table with his arms crossed, he didn't respond nor did he do anything. "I really am, Danse just doesn't like anyone that isn't… that isn't part of 'The brotherhood of jarheads'" At least that got a snicker from him as he lit a cigarette.

"Your partner huh?" He said with a smirk and blew smoke up towards the ceiling. His smirk turned to a surprised grimace when he saw me blush. He dropped his cigarette with a loud outburst, "Is he really?!" to which I was very hesitant to answer in worry of another outburst likely the problem of too many Chems.

"Work partner actually, I'm working with the Brotherhood of bigoted assholes and helping them play god. I'm hoping they will help me with finding Shaun, there is a suit of power armor there for me as well, it should be finished soon." He sat on the other couch during my time talking and seemed to be listening to me, I was never sure though.

"You haven't gotten any closer to finding him huh? Dr. Amari might be able to point you in another direction, I know she said there was nothing she could do until you hunted down a courser, but she could at least give you some peace of mind-Or you can have some peace with this." He held out some jet canisters with a smile. "No thank you," I said while putting my hands up in front of me and smiling sheepishly, "I don't like to indulge.. and I don't want to go see Dr. Amari yet.. not without Nick anyways."

I was about to further the conversation when I remembered why I was in here in the first place, "Have you seen Danse today? When I woke up, he was gone." He looked up at the hazy ceiling for a few seconds and began in his raspy voice, "I believe he want to see KL-E-O and work on his armor in her shop. He's been there maybe about two hours, kept polishing where it began to rust."

I thanked him and got up to leave, as soon as my hand connected with the handle, he got up from the couch "Wait, Tesla," I turned to hear him out, "If you ever need a partner, I'm always going to be here, it would be nice to get out of Goodneighbor for a while." I smiled and cleared my throat to make the Shroud voice, "The Shroud is thankful. When justice is in need of assistance, The Shroud will call upon her faithful companion." We both laughed and I left to find Danse.

I walked over to where KL-E-O was working; sure enough that's where he was, looking at all the wares for sale and browsing the different types of mods. I walked up and greeted KL-E-O then began to look at some of the wares myself. I purchased some ammunition and had got some rather nice advice on what I could do with Serrated Revenge. Once I had enough parts I could upgrade it slightly and make it more effective.

We left promptly when Danse had caught a glimpse of Hancock, with a quick wave goodbye I was out the front door rather quickly. Danse and I had to continue on our way to Faneuil Hall quietly because raiders and Supermutants seemed to be around every corner. We finally made our way to the front of Faneuil Hall and had been looking the front over; a few Supermutants and a few hounds, it was nothing I couldn't handle. I turned and whispered to Danse, "If you go out there and distract them then I can snipe them off one by one from here, if that would be fine with you that is." He thought about it for a moment and then turned away and ran straight to the front of the building.

All was going well, Danse would engage them and drag some out into the open while I sat on the sidelines and took headshots. We had only gone through about four Supermutants and two hounds when there was the telltale sound of a Supermutant Suicider with a mini nuke strapped to his arm. I had panicked. I stood from my cover and began yelling to Danse, "Danse! RUN!" He turned and ran back to where I was, stupid mutants hadn't even realized my plan until they were in bits and pieces. I took my aim and shot the mini nuke strapped to his arm, a large explosion, a rain of blood and all was done.


	4. She Once Failed Ninja Training

She Once Failed Ninja Training

We walked through all the pieces of mutants, which were more of a paste now. We stealthily walked through the front doors, well as stealthily as a clumsy housewife and a metal man can be anyways.

There was a terminal directly in front of the door, which seemed to control a nearby protectron, I had hacked the terminal at ArcJet… I'm sure I could unlock this one. I crawled my way over to the terminal and stood up rather slowly, as soon as my hands touched the buttons on that keyboard I knew the terminal had no chance. With the swift motions of my fingers, I had hacked the terminal rather quickly to find that there were actually four protectrons just ready for activation. Of course I activated them all, we had a whole building full of filthy Supermutants just waiting to soak up some bullets.

The howls of hounds sounded as the protectrons began to shoot their laser beams at the sickly green mutts. Several confused mutants ran around trying to smash the dutiful robots, yelling profanities mostly about humans. Boy, were these guys kind of dumb. The protectrons cleared up most of the Supermutants we would have had to fire fight with if it had not been for my great hacking skills. "Danse," I hesitated to finish for the idea I had felt idiotic at best, " I think there are still more upstairs, can you wait here while I go look? It will be a lot easier for me to sneak around than for you…" Danse did not question my thought and nodded in agreement.

I cautiously stepped over disintegrated mutants who some of had turned to ashes. Every step I took kicked up speckles of ash into the already stale air making it significantly more difficult to breathe. I was crouched close to the ground while I crept along in the dark areas of the interior. Making my way to the upper levels crouched so low was starting to wear on my knees. The ashes that had littered the first floor were stuck to the bottom hem of my coat and had settled upon my hat and shoulders, occasionally fluttering around with a jerky movement or when I had rubbed up against something.

I was very close to the last room, the room the protectrons had not been able to reach.

I looked in the doorframe, making sure to stay low and slow, there was a stronger looking mutant, taller with more defined muscles. He had a board with serrated edges over his shoulder that moved back and forth as his uneven steps echoes throughout the room.

Certainly he knew whatever caused the commotion downstairs was still there, he was definitely on guard and so was the mutant hound brilliantly glowing beside him. I had watched him silently as I stayed crouched next to the door. I couldn't stop thinking about my knees and calves, which screamed out in pain as I stayed in tight position watching and observing.

Perhaps if I was more careful down on the first floor with my footing, I would not have accumulated so much dust and ash onto the brim of my hat and shoulders on my coat. As I watched, the glowing hound came rather close to me, which merited a slight jerky movement away from the door, which in turn knocked ashes off the brim of my hat into the air. A cloud of ash was now visible in the corner of the door.

That moment was the moment I knew I had made a wrong move, the telltale sign of a tickle in my nose, the uncomfortable position. I breathed in heavily from fright and worry, which was the straw that supposedly broke the camel's back. I inhaled several times, trying to be quiet, but to no avail. Achooo!

More ashes clouded as my body moved in one jerky movement; my knees sore from staying in the position gave and helped my land rather loud with a thud straight on my ass. When I had opened my eyes, I had opened them to a smile full or sharp yellow teeth surrounded by frothy saliva. A loud growl accompanied by the yelling of the large Supermutant had kept me frozen in place sitting on the floor ready to piss my pants.

Another snarl from the four-legged beast was interrupted with a bright red laser blast to the side of his face. The big frosted glass windows let in a fair amount of light focusing directly onto the middle of the stairs-the stairs that now had a gleaming shine coming from my savior. He must have known that something like this would happen, he was ready to come to my rescue at a second's notice.

My 'Paladin in shining armor' was there to rescue me. His entrance momentarily distracted me; I had not seen the teeth inches from my throat, teeth ready to be painted with blood. I reached for anything that could prevent my impending doom. Its mouth now wide open showing its full mouth of razor sharp teeth, saliva dripping down onto my coat from the corners of its mouth. I wasn't able to find anything that could have prevented his teeth from finding a target. In that moment, my life flashed before my eyes. One particular point in my life was more prominent than the rest.

The playground when I was younger, perhaps around sixteen; I had always been told I was a child at heart. An old rickety bunch of dangerous wooden structures. I had never lived in a luxurious house, not even a good neighborhood. I was running around with people I had thought to be my friends (as playful as myself despite them being the same age) until I had tripped over a large object and landed rather hard onto the brown grass. I got my bearings, sat with my legs out in front of myself and looked up.

Faced with an image I knew was familiar, gleaming white teeth brandished in my face, snarls and growls, frothy foam around the edges. A large grey dog with broad jaws, jaws made for clamping down and holding onto prey. Eyes that were dilated and bloodshot, they were honed in right at me, but at the same time with no true focus, as if this large dog was looking straight through me. I was afraid, but ready to accept my fate I had believed to be final at the time, 'Death By Mauling'.

I closed my eyes, the coward's way of facing danger. I waited to feel those teeth around my throat, waited to feel my life slip away out of my grasp into the jaws of darkness. I could feel the hot breath of the dog, the smell of sickness lingered on its breath. I sat for what seemed like forever, waiting. All in an instant, the dog's hot breath was ripped away to the sound of a thud followed by a loud yelp.

There he was, my savior, a boy I had hardly known was positioned a few feet away from me holding my impending doom to the ground while dodging a fury of teeth. After the ordeal, he knelt down next to me, "Tesla, are you ok?" I was beyond happy to still be breathing in that instant, and in the process almost stopped his when I grabbed him and squeezed him in a hug. A thankful hug, full of happiness and wonderment. "Thank you, Nate."

I was returned to my current situation by the sounds of laser fire that grew louder and louder with each shot fired. I watched as the hound that was positioned over me began to glow bright red and then slowly disintegrated over me, ash covering me like heavy snowfall on a stormy day. "Crush Metal Man!" Instantly worry flowed over me, watching Danse face off with this Supermutant, using just his power in his suit. His laser rifle lay on the ground behind him while he squares up his opponent.

Danse was first to strike, the sickening sound of metal colliding with tough flesh and the crack of bone. He soon had the mutant cornered, battered and bloody, the mutant could barely stand. One last punch finished it all as his fist left the mutant's chest, his head drooped lifelessly. He seemed overly proud in his accomplishments briefly admiring the blood on his power armor arms and looking at the dead Supermutant. He turned around towards me, a look of determination on his face, he was lost in the moment until he was brought back to reality.

Danse walked over to me while I was getting up, ash flying everywhere while I tried my hardest to rid the black fabric of its new ash coating. Coughing violently once a rather dense cloud of ash made itself present by her face that led to more ash flying through the air. All this commotion because of ashes. I am going to have to start finding weapons that didn't turn my enemies to ashes.

"Tesla, are you alright?" He seemed rather worried looking at my now grey costume and pile of ashes accumulating on the floor. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you, Danse, for saving me. I'm a little shaken up, but I'll live." I took another look at my dirty Costume, "Maybe it's time to find a new costume…" I laughed at the thought of some of the silly things I have seen people wearing around the Commonwealth.

We managed to catch a passing Vertibird for a ride back to the police station. I happily rubbed my success all up in Knight Rhys's smug face. He seemed genuinely surprised at my success. Success was only achieved because Danse prevented a Mutant hound from ripping out my throat.

I took watch again that night to clear my head. The night air was cool and crisp, a slight breeze had drifted past every now and then sending a refreshing chill across my cheeks and down my neck. I breathed in a large breath of fresh air and shut my eyes trying to sort out my thoughts. When it was time to switch shifts, I walked down to the back of the station where Danse was typing away at a terminal.

It was quite comical to see him trying to type while in his suit of power armor. I stood there briefly to watch him get frustrated with whatever he had been typing, I cleared my throat. He looked up at me and a look of worry disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. I began to speak, "Danse…"


	5. Danse's Personal Logs

**Author's Note:** Sorry if this chapter is a little dry or boring… Not much action in this one. I will hopefully be uploading the next chapter very soon.

Danse's Personal Logs

 **ENTRY 2204-01**

 **Initiate Tesla has shown promising skills in intuition and computer skills, I have no doubt that she will perhaps go on to be a scribe after she has tested the waters trying to be a knight. She shows a lack of skill in hand to hand combat and fighting with melee weapons, but this could be a lack of formal training or a lack of acceptable body protection. Her intuition is impressive as it ranges from disarming land mines to knowing where the best weak spot is on each target she lets in her line of fire. Tesla has yet to show all her abilities and skills, I believe she has potential to become masterfully stealthy.**

 **She seems to have little to no fear of her enemies with the exception of the most recent time during our mission that had been given by Knight Rhys. While covered in ash, her cover was blown and her throat was almost ripped out by a mutant hound. I heard her as soon as she inhaled too deeply and decided to get over there as soon as I could. Lucky for her that I had shown up when I did. The look on her face is one that shall haunt me forever, fear mixed with acceptance. Tesla was ready to die on a mission for the Brotherhood of Steel, something many of my brothers and sisters may not be able to do willingly.**

 **She is an arrogant person, when we returned to the Cambridge police station, she was quick to smugly show off and gloat about her success on the mission from Rhys. After a few moments watching the two of them argue over how well she did, I decided to come back to the terminal in the back of the room designated to be my own personal terminal. Initiate Tesla had watched me trying to type up this report in my suit of power armor and had herself a laugh because it is quite difficult to do so. I am going to have a discussion with her, and if it proves to be important, it shall appear in my next report entry.**

 **ENTRY 2204-02**

 **My chat with Tesla had not gone as planned. She had requested some time off so she could complete some personal business of hers, which involved some very dangerous risks. She would not go into detail, but I have deduced that she will be heading to the Glowing Sea. She left the station at approximately 09:37 to head back to her home front.**

 **I have reported in with Elder Maxson and was told to stay here at the Cambridge Police Station for the time being until I have further orders. He inquired as to where initiate Tesla had ventured to. Elder Maxson was quite angry when my answer was "I'm not sure". He told me to report in as soon as she comes back to the station.**

 **I have many of my fellow brothers and sisters asking Tesla's whereabouts and have no answer to give them. Their constant harassment has been getting on my nerves, but I have also began to worry about her absence.**

 **ENTRY 2204-03**

 **Tesla has been gone for approximately two weeks. Between the constant chatter about my fellow brothers' and sisters' worries and Elder Maxson breathing down my neck, I have began to plan for a recon on her whereabouts. I was going to give her more time before making a big deal about this.**

 **The station has been rather quiet with her gone, she was quite an odd character with a very obscure background that she made a point of keeping obscure. I have my thoughts of people she has confided in then swore to secrecy. My investigation on the background of Initiate Tesla will begin very soon, starting with Scribe Haylen.**

 **I hope whatever information I find is somewhat useful or relevant and will hopefully lead me to where she has gone, granted she had not yet returned by the time.**

 **ENTRY 2204-04**

 **My investigation began with Haylen, which seemed like a good lead. The Scribe's fake ignorance had certainly got on my nerves and she had become more frustrating the more I interrogated her. I could tell that whatever she was hiding was significant and difficult to hide. She tried very desperately to lie her way out of it, but due to a multi-day investigation, her lies would differ each time she told them.**

 **I had thought maybe she did not want to say anything in front of the other Knights and Scribes, so I took my investigation up to the top of the police station where it was quieter and did not have as many listening ears.**

 **She had not given me very much information up there except that Tesla was in fact quite old. This information confused me, because Tesla had such dark, thick, healthy hair and she had such smooth skin with a young looking face. I would not have guessed her to be more than perhaps 28. But nonetheless, Haylen insisted that she was quite old. Haylen must have thought that would quell my curiosity. If that were the case, then she had the opposite effect, but I would refrain from questioning Haylen more than needed. My investigation had been put on hold.**

 **ENTRY 2204-05**

 **Elder Maxson had given me another week to postpone my trip to search for Tesla. I am truly worried for her, running off into the Glowing Sea without power armor was dangerous, and I am not even sure if she went alone or if she brought someone with her. Tesla has been gone a total of a whole month, many of the members here are beginning to worry she was gone, something I refused to believe.**

 **I have not slept much these past few days, between some ludicrous rumors and my worry for Tesla, there has been little to no sleep. Once she returns, I may actually sleep well, depending on these absurd rumors flying around.**

 **There have been excessive rumors about Elder Maxson's infatuation with Initiate Tesla. With the numerous amounts of rumors, I do not have any doubt that there is a high possibility that these rumors are true. If tesla finds out, I cannot guarantee that she will stay with the brotherhood, I feel as though that romance is certainly on her list of things long forgotten about.**

 **ENTRY 2204-06**

 **Initiate Tesla had returned today, one of the Knights guarding the outside of the station saw her walk up and collapse before even reaching the stairs. He carefully picked her up and carried her in, careful to grab her belongings and hat. Haylen has been taking care of her in the back room where she would not be bothered.**

 **After a few hours she started to show signs of improvement, but had not yet woken up. I have not reported to Maxson yet, because he would surely make the situation worse. I am off to go check on her condition at this very moment.**

I awoke in unfamiliar surroundings. I looked up to the ceiling, which was old and cracked in some places. My throat was dry, all I could think of was how much I needed water, anything to drink really. I sat up and saw my Silver Shroud costume hanging over by the door. Immediately I looked at what I was wearing, a dark grey brotherhood uniform. I was glad that I was at least dressed.

I stood up, perhaps a bit too fast for my own good and felt dizzy. Walking to the other end of the room was a real feat, as everything I laid my eyes on had a double. I had to stand and take a deep breath before I continued on to the door. I opened the door only to see a large red emblem of the brotherhood of steel and cleanly polished steel.

"Danse?" He was almost as surprised as me, but more so surprised that I was already awake, or maybe the fact that had I been closer, may not have been awake any longer. He must have known that I was still feeling just as terrible as when I was on my way here because I felt the faint ghost of a hand on my back. "Tesla, you are already up, I'm glad you are at least feeling that well. I'm surprised someone of your age could handle this amount of damage," My Age? "You are more resilient than I first believed." Oh boy, does he have a lesson to sit through later.

"Danse, I suddenly do not feel well again, is Haylen around? Can I please see her?" He looked hurt briefly, but turned and called for Haylen who was by his side in an instant. "Go back and do some reports," She began to shoo him away, "and you tell Maxson that if I find these rumors to be true, there will be hell to pay!" She shook her fist in the air menacingly and then closed the door quietly. "Tesla, are you alright? What is it that you needed of me?" My frown must have given away much of what I was unhappy about because she chimed in rather quickly, "Danse has been questioning your background. I did all I could to play dumb, but he knows something is up, the only thing that would shut him up was an answer, I said something about you being a lot older than you actually look. He left afterwards, but I swear that's all I told him…"

She seemed over relieved when my look of distrust and anger melted away into a dull annoyance; annoyance with Danse, his stupid questioning and the pain I was in. "Haylen, I'm going to tell him soon, I just need to do it at the right time, and perhaps when I am not so beat up. The Glowing Sea was a lot more than I was ready for…" I was going to finish when I was interrupted by her bright eyes and inquisitive look "You went to the glowing sea? In nothing but your Comic book hero costume?" Haylen's excited mood has elevated my own slightly, "Haylen, go get Danse, it's a really long story and I only want to tell it once…" Haylen speed walked to the door and waved while whispering Danse's name very loudly. I sat on the bed and made myself comfortable, I knew I would be here for a while.

Danse stood behind Haylen who was seated in a rickety chair next to the bed. He had his arms crossed in his power armor, and Haylen sat on the edge of her chair, ready to hear the tale that almost ended mine. "Well after I had the talk about leaving to go on my own mission for a while, I walked over to sanctuary to retrieve a HAZMAT suit and some ammunition. I put them all into my little backpack and began my journey to the Edge of the Glowing Sea. I ran into a large group of raiders that had only given me a little trouble, only wounding me slightly," I had raised my bandaged hand, "I was shot with a laser pistol and disarmed briefly. This was not long, because after I was done, most of the raiders were not recognizable and would certainly give the forensics team a difficult time." Danse and Haylen both wore looks of confusion. "Sorry, I guess you wouldn't understand that.."

"Once I reached The Edge of the Glowing Sea, I had changed into this flimsy Hazmat suit I bought during my travels into Diamond City. Sadly the suit was only good for counteracting radiation, so the creatures of the wastes really had their way with me. The Radscorpions thrashed me and I had the Plexiglas on my helmet cracked by a few Stingwings. I reached the Crater of Atom, which had all these extremely crazy people bent on worshipping 'Atom'. But the craziest part is that they were wearing rags, completely exposed to radiation, yet they were normal looking people. I talked to one of them, she sent me farther into the Sea to find a scientist named Virgil, who lived in a cave."

"The walk there I was plagued by feral ghouls and Stingwings, they were beginning to get easier, I had learned to predict their movements with more ease. The worst problem was when I saw the entrance to the cave. There was a sleeping Deathclaw," Haylen interrupted with shock, "A Deathclaw! All by your lonesome self with barely any protection?!" Danse silenced her with a stern look, "Haylen, please, don't interrupt Tesla, this information is all very important." I continued, "I actually snuck past it, it was sleeping so heavily, I way have been able to walk right past it without sneaking. I reached the cave and walked past lots of security to meet this scientist. Long story short, I got some information from him and then walked out rather confidently. So confidently in fact that I tripped right over the Deathclaw."

"I was pinned down on the ground as it roared in my face. I wasn't thinking, I grabbed Serrated Revenge from my side, looked it straight in the eyes and 'Roooaaarrrr'" I made a scary face and held up my hands like an angry cat. "The Deathclaw looked very confused briefly, like it hadn't expected to be challenged. Its time for confusion left a moment for me to stick my sword right into the soft spot of its belly. He bled out in seconds, squirming and roaring, writhing in pain. I collected my sword and felt sick all of the sudden. That bastard ripped a large hole in my suit, and the cracked Plexiglas had been cracked enough that the radiation began to flood my suit. My Geiger counter was clicking like wild, I ditched my Hazmat suit then and there in favor of the one with more ballistic protection and ran; I ran in the direction of the station, I ran for as long as I could."

"I don't even remember leaving the Glowing Sea… I didn't even know I made it here to be quite honest, when I woke up, I thought maybe it was all a dream and that I never left the station. Thank you for patching me up Haylen." I sat in silence, looking at the fabric of my current uniform for a few second, thinking over my next move. "Haylen…" I began, "I need to speak to Paladin Danse for a moment. Its nothing you don't already know, but it won't be personal enough with you here. We can catch up more later ok?" Haylen got up and walked out of the room quietly. "Danse, I think it's time you learned about why I'm here, or maybe how I'm here. And I'm not that old ok?!"


	6. Tesla's History Frozen In Time

Tesla's History Frozen In Time

"I could hear Nate saying his speech in the mirror from the other room, I walked over and began my daily routine: Brush teeth, Brush Hair, Apply Makeup, and check to make sure my overall look was on point. I walked around in the living room briefly as Codsworth, the Mr. Handy we had recently purchased, had set coffee on the counter next to a comic book we got in the mail. It was hot, I blew on it and took a large sip, and it was still too hot. Shaun started to cry from his room in the back, Codsworth went to go care for him.

"The doorbell rang and Nate asked me to go get the door, apparently the Vault-Tec salesman had been trying to get ahold of me for a few days by that point. I walked past my bookshelf and admired my diploma, 'Scarlett Tesla, Esq.' I thought to myself 'A lot of late nights, but it was worth it' I opened the door to an overly enthusiastic salesman clad in Vault-Tec sales clothing. I was rather sarcastic to the man in the beginning, but eventually I gave in and just filled out the paperwork he gave me just so that he would go away. I was never prepared for what happened next…

"There were sirens and Vertibirds, Nate grabbed Shaun and we ran to the gate where all my neighbors were standing, hoping to get into the Vault. I ran past the Vault-Tec salesman who was throwing a fit, I ran, 'We are on the list!' We were let in; I stood on the middle of the platform that went down to the vault.

"They were getting ready to send it down, when we saw the bomb go off. It was loud, we could see the cloud forming, the white hot intensity of light and heat, the wind began to pick up, and we could see the force of radiation and wind coming towards us, the dust and dirt picking up and debris flying everywhere. Just as the platform began to go down, the shock wave had reached Sanctuary Hills.

"We had been safe. The clean walls of the Vault filled with my worried neighbors and scientists who seemed overly happy the apocalypse had just occurred. I turned around to check on Nate and my Infant son who seemed to have no idea what was going on. We walked in a line to get outfitted for the Vault suits. Vault 111, our new home. We followed a scientist to what we were told were decontamination pods, just as we got to the end, Shaun started to fuss. I calmed him, changed into my suit and sat in the pod, it closed and I watched Nate sit on the other side in his. He put his hand up and waved to me…

"The next thing I remember was a choking feeling, coughing and blurry vision which cleared along with my hearing. A man and woman, they took my son and shot my husband. I had no idea what was happening, I was pounding on the glass of the pod, yelling for them. The man walked up and said something about me being the backup, and then everything faded to white again.

"When I was finally released, I picked myself up off the cold, hard, wet floor and opened the pod that contained my now late husband and took his ring, vowing to avenge him and get Shaun back. I did only one of those things, and you don't see an extra with me… When I fought my way out of the vault, I stood to see the barren world for what it now was. I ran to my house only to see Codsworth floating there. We had a chat, and in that moment, I realized I had been frozen for two hundred and ten years. I was in utter disbelief... It would have made me two hundred thirty-five years old. Sure in truth that I'm only twenty-five, but what good is anything I worked for in my life? All I did was wake up to a brand new world, which by the way sucks.

I hadn't noticed the tears that were streaming down my face as I told the story of me. I guess I hadn't really thought about it recently or long enough to really feel the sadness of what truly happened. I sat with my legs hanging off the bed, my arms around myself, doing my best to feel like there was someone here to find comfort in. I heard the noise of power armor clanking and the noises it makes when it is being entered or exited.

The bed had more weight on it, the side creaked and I felt the warmth of arms around me. I looked over at Danse, who pulled me in closer, "Tesla, I had no idea." He held me close, something I never got while I suffered the loss of family. Nick was always asking away with his questions, and Hancock did not usually show much interest in my life. He was one of the first people I have traveled with that showed earnest emotion and interest in the way I felt.

"Thank you Danse. This made me feel a lot better; I'd like to rest now… I would like for you to come with me somewhere tomorrow if that would be possible… I need to hunt down and kill something, and it needs to be done." He looked at me for a moment, I was lost in his eyes, they seemed to hold such care and concern. He looked to be in thought, "Tesla, if I may ask, feel free to tell me if such is too personal, how did you acquire that?" He ghosted his thumb against my cheek, over the bottom half of my long, deep scar.

"It was from a Deathclaw," I began the story of my heroism in Concord, "While I was fighting raiders in Concord, a Deathclaw came up from the earth and began to wipe them out. I had a suit of power armor but the fusion core had run out of juice and I had to ditch the thing, but I still carried the minigun I took from the crashed Vertibird on the roof. I was in front of the Museum turning those raiders into Swiss cheese when it came barreling towards me. After a long fight with the thing, I ended up with lots of bruises and sore muscles. His last blow was the one that gave me this."

I had pulled my hair back all the way to show the large scar that spanned from my forehead, across my left eye and down to the bottom of my cheek. It was truly a wonder that it didn't catch my eye, being half blind would have been truly awful. "When the fight was over, I had done worse to the Deathclaw than he did to me. He left me bloody and bruised with a huge wound reminding me that trying to be the hero hurt me. As a token of my victory, I had two things: A permanent reminder of heroics, and a nifty headband with had Deathclaw horns attached."

"You're very brave Tesla. You should talk to Elder Maxson about Deathclaws, his story is good too, but less impressive, he has had years of training while you just wandered out here and took one on. Get some rest, I'll be ready whenever you wish to leave tomorrow" He left without another word, his warmth went with him and left me cold and in the dark. I turned and went to sleep on the rather uncomfortable bed. It was cold in the station and the blanket was rather thin. Every shiver made my sore muscles tense with pain, although eventually I drifted off to sleep where the cold and pain had disappeared without a trace.

The next morning is when the true pain made itself apparent. My muscles were screaming every time I moved, which had successfully prevented me from getting up out of the bed. I tried to sit up, I tried to roll and do a push up. These did not work as when I moved and tried to lift myself from the bed, I only fell back down to more soreness and pain. I looked down at my hand, which had been carefully wrapped by Haylen the night before. The bandages were stained with a dull red, which was probably from tossing and turning during the night. My hand hurt, but I would not let that stop me from my current mission of hunting the hunter: Kill a Courser.

I had been trying so hard to get up carefully so that my body didn't hurt so badly, I had not realized how close I had been to the edge of the bed. When I did realize, I was already laying on the floor wrapped in the blanket. Apparently I had made a rather loud noise when I fell that was followed by a rather loud grunt of pain. A soft rasping of the door could be heard, "Tesla? Are you ok in there? I heard a loud bang." It was the soft voice of Haylen. I called back, "Yeah, I'm alright. I was getting out of bed, figured the best way to do so would be to just fall right out." There was some silence before Haylen spoke again "Does that mean that you are ok?" I looked up at the ceiling from where I was, "Yeah, I think I'll be fine, but maybe you could come help me up, just to be sure…"

She entered and giggled as she helped me to sit on the edge of the bed. "You looked so much better yesterday before the pain came back, you look simply terrible today." I glared at her, "Gee, Thanks Haylen, it was always my dream to be told how awful I looked while travelling the Glowing Sea nearly on my own." I had stood up and began to stretch to loosen my muscles and to expedite the healing process.

"Alright Haylen, I think it's time to go get Danse, is he awake?" I glanced towards the door and stretched some more, "I think he is still asleep actually, he only went to sleep recently. He took watch for the first part of the night and then took some time to work on his weapon. Why don't you have some breakfast before you go and wake him, he can get rather grumpy…" I listened to Haylen and went to find myself some food. I had rummaged through my things that had made it back from the glowing sea.

My backpack had become extremely light during the trip, especially when that Radscorpion surprised me while I was looking through my things and effectively helped me empty it of everything that was junk related. I was rather unhappy to have to leave all my glorious loot behind while I ran for my life. I did manage to find some purified water and a small package of Sugar Bombs, typical breakfast here in the Commonwealth. I did wish so badly that I didn't need to eat dry cereal, but it's better than having no cereal I suppose.

After enjoying-or trying to enjoy-my stale breakfast, I went to the back room where Danse slept. I knocked on the door very quietly, "Danse?" I pressed my ear to the door. I didn't hear anything so I decided I would just take a peek in the room to see if maybe he was awake. I opened the door and the room lit up slightly from the ray of light that entered. "Danse? Are you awake?" There was no answer. I entered the room and closed the door behind myself quietly enough that nobody would have heard I went into the room. Didn't want any of the other soldiers to think there was something going on between us.


	7. Bonding Over Hunting, Just Like Real Men

Bonding Over Hunting, Just Like Real Men

I flicked on a light on the desk, "Danse, get up, it's time to go hunt the hunter!" All I got in return was a grunt for a response. He started tossing and turning, mumbling names. I turned to leave, it was evident that he needed more sleep; I had reached for the handle until I heard the disjointed stammering of a plea for help. "Danse?" I walked closer and kneeled down next to the mattress on the floor-muttering, jerky movements, sweat, pleas for help, angry words. I knew this all too well. Nate had similar problems, a lot worse but manageable.

I did just what I would have done for Nate, albeit extremely dangerous and a sure fire way to hurt myself, I had to do this. Danse had his arms curled towards his chest with the blanket across his wrists. Perfect. I quickly jumped him and held the blanket down with my knees so he could not swing at me. I learned from the several times I did so with Nate, Many black eyes the first few times.

Danse's eyes shot open and he began to struggle, not quite sure where he is, all he can see is his memories and imagination. "Danse! Snap out of it!" I shook him by his shoulders until he realized where he was. I placed my hand on the side oh his face "Danse, you're ok, you're here at the station, everything is alright." I spoke quietly to him and looked him in those beautifully dark eyes.

I stayed there and looked at him, I began to feel awkward and get up rather quickly making myself busy on the other side of the room, shuffling papers around and such, arranging the writing utensils. The telltale sound of power armor being entered sounded throughout the room as loud as I remembered. "Thank you, Tesla" is all he said on the matter. We left promptly afterwards to head to C.I.T. ruins.

The walk was rather short; C.I.T. ruins were rather close to the police station. We walked sluggishly slow; my body was still aching from my previous mission. Danse walked behind me like usual, he made no noise except when he believed we were in dangerous territories or when I pick up junk. Those coffee cups were absolutely necessary I say. They could come in extremely useful one day.

I got a notification from my Pip-Boy showing the Courser Signal from which I could track my prey. The signal took me to the front of the Greentek Building Muffled commotion came from Inside. I stood before the door contemplating my next move, whether I should go in there and face my future, or turn around and abscond out of here.

The Greentek Building was insane; gunners running around like chickens' with their heads cut off-some gunner literally running around with their heads cut off. Immediate fear had swept over me seeing all these gunners having such a difficult time with one Courser. They were attacking me; I had too much running through my mind. I dodged most of their bullets and laser beams while attacking directly with Serrated Revenge. It was a tough fight, turrets and traps along with plenty of gunner ambushes. It would have been very difficult on my own, luckily I had Danse by my side, and he saved me more than a few times.

We finally fought our way past gunner after gunner with various weapons; we had a relatively easy time until we got farther up. Many of the Gunners in the top levels had advanced weapons, a few of them actually carried around missile launchers, which I tried so desperately to avoid. I avoided many, only being knocked around by the blast itself; Danse was not so lucky. Unfortunately-but also fortunately-Danse got hit with one trying to shield me, his armor looked a little more beat up, but he was relatively all right.

We finally made it up to the top floor past a room buzzing with Gunners, I jumped into the elevator and Danse stood in front of me. We got out and ran up several flights of stairs to the argument that could be heard above. When we finally got there, just as I stepped through the door came a rather odd sounding voice, "Are you here for the synth?"

I did not think before I spoke, which proved to be funny but unhelpful, "I'm here to pick up an order, two pepperoni and a calzone, name of 'Fuck You'." I turned around to look at Danse whose disapproval came off in waves. His funny black uniform, his odd way of speaking, "If you are not here for the synth, then you're here for me." Immediately he turned aggressive, and just as I was about to take the first swing, he vanished.

I stood there looking as confused as ever. I turned around and looked at Danse for any kind of hint as to what to do. I turned back to where I last saw him. A bright electric blue laser beam came shooting past my face. "There he is!" He ran, but now I could see his faint outline and shadow. I planned to not be shot at again, which was easily achieved when I kept him pinned to the wall sword slash after sword slash. Danse came over as well holding a bladed tire iron, where he got it was beyond me, but he knew how to use it. Off came the Courser's head.

I heard a voice, I don't believe that Danse had heard it, I shooshed the voice quickly while Danse dealt with the gunners, "Danse, can you go downstairs and look for my gun? I think I dropped it when I set off the laser beam thing…" He gave an annoyed huff and went down the elevator. I met a girl whom the Courser must have been after a synth named 'Jenny'. I could not have run faster to get the other elevator running and then open the door for Jenny. "Stay here until me and my partner are gone, he will kill you if he sees you, stay hidden in that room ok?" She nodded and ran back to hide.

Danse appeared on the stairs with no gun, "I could not find one the looked like yours, I apologize." I suppressed a giggle, "It's fine. I can make do with the weapons I have. Let's go. I got the other elevator working!" I happily walked over to the new travel option and tapped the button with a smile on my face. I could almost not suppress my laughter as we left the synth girl in the other room. I just let a synth escape right under Danse's nose.

We left promptly to the Cambridge Police Station while nursing minor bullets wounds, scrapes, cuts and bruises we had soaked up from the gunners inhabiting the lower levels of the building. It was a rather short walk since the station was so close. We walked in silence, as was a normal walk between us lately, which is why I was caught off guard with Danse's gruff "Did you get what you needed from it?" I donned a surprised look, "Oh my gosh I forgot to get it from him!" Danse was seething with anger, "Tesla, please tell me that you are joking." I didn't answer him at first. He stopped and gave me a look gripped with anger-he looked as if he was about to become unhinged.

"Tell me that you are kidding!" His face lost its anger when my smirk, I started laughing and held up the Courser Chip, "Yes, I was kidding." We were rather close to the police station, so I thought I would have my own fun for the day. Danse did not seem as amused as I was. I walked on next to the tin soldier and right up the steps to the Police station. All my new friends, and a bear hug from Haylen greeted me. "I think Elder Maxson wants you back at the Prydwen, he seemed really upset about something…"

The next several hours were some of the bloodiest and gruesome that have ever passed by. Maxson welcomed us onto the ship only to throw us into a Vertibird and ship us off to Fort Strong. I was in charge of the mounted minigun. I was in charge of taking down a Behemoth that was rampaging around and hurling rubble at the Vertibirds. I unleashed the fiery bullets from the increasingly hot barrel of the minigun. Several times I was worried that my coat would catch fire each time it fluttered past.

The end of the Behemoth was only the beginning of the fight to come. Dozens of Supermutants fell at the hands of the Brotherhood and myself; the compound itself was left up to Danse and I. We had a relatively easy time clearing the fortress save for a Supermutant with a missile launcher. I made sure to pick it up and keep it for myself. When all was said and done, I returned to the Prydwen after a long talk with Danse.

He decided it was time for me to know why he hated Supermutants so very much, and I found that I was saddened to hear about his best friend. I wished perhaps there was something I could do to make this all easier for him. I am going to do everything in my power to make my favorite Paladin happy, because nobody deserves to live with so much hate in their heart.


	8. A Knight Afraid of Heights

A Knight Afraid of Heights

I spent a few hours trying to sleep aboard the Prydwen with little to no progress. Sleep eluded me; it was so loud here. The engines were loud, constant and very noisy. The metal clanging and banging paired with the sound of large metal footsteps from the Knights were impossible to fall asleep to. I see all the other Knights sleeping on their cots softly snoring away. How they could sleep so soundly in such noise was beyond myself. I had to sleep. If I got no sleep then I would be miserable tomorrow morning when Danse begins my official Knight Training.

Miserable would never be able to cover the way I was feeling. I was so tired when he told me to do five hundred push-ups and afterwards I was forced to run three miles. I was given a small break for lunch, which I used for sleeping. Danse was rather upset to find me using my bowl of razorgrain porridge as a pillow. He grabbed my hair roughly and pulled my face out of the gruel, "Initiate Tesla! This is no way to act here. You have work to do before we can pass you for the title of Knight. Sleeping in a bowl of porridge is not the way to pass." All I could manage was a grunt in response and to wipe the mush off my face. I had ditched the rest of it and frowned at the idea of being both tired and hungry.

My next task was to put on the set of power armor Proctor Ingram had waiting for me. I was nervous, only having been in one once before. I was less afraid when I realized that there would be no Deathclaw waiting to open it like a tin can-and if there was, at least the other members would take the beast on first. I was taken from my thoughts when I laid eyes upon the shining metal of the suit. It had a fresh coat of paint and looked like it was just polished too. I turned to Danse with the biggest smile on my face, and he smiled too. It must have been a very long time since he trained an Initiate; perhaps this was a happy moment for him as well.

I stepped behind my armor and turned the steel wheel in the back opening it up. I gently stepped into it and steadied myself as it sealed. I was worried. The suit was just as claustrophobic as I remembered, and the adrenaline I had before to make me forget was completely absent at the moment. My helmet was not even on, yet I felt like I could barely breathe. The fear must have been plastered on my face for Danse donned a worried look and spoke calmly, "Initiate Tesla?" I had to focus a little on my breathing, willing myself to forget the fear of suffocating.

"There are a few other Initiates waiting for you. We are all going to go down and run a track to see your proficiency in your armor. They are all waiting by the Vertibirds, please put on your helmet." I looked at the helmet and then back at Danse. I took a deep breath, put it on and secured the clasps. It smelled of grease and fresh paint along with the smell of old fabric. This would certainly take some getting used to. Danse told me that I was already ahead of the other Initiates since I have actual combat experience in armor.

Every time I step out of the false safety of the command deck into the wind of the flight deck I fear for my life. I may not feel the wind in the power armor, but the force of it had sufficiently made it more difficult to balance. I did not know many of the Initiates personally. I knew their names, but I never bothered to get into their personal lives. They all had their helmets on, so I wasn't sure who was who. They all seemed to get really excited when they saw me. I did recognize Klaus-one of the Initiates I would see for breakfast occasionally-solely because of his bright orange, design on the lenses of his helmet he claimed was his own invention.

I never knew where he got the idea for this odd design. It reminded me of Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man. I had done plenty of research in my times as a child; the symbol was instantly recognizable to someone such as myself. Wherever he found the design, I'm glad that it was a piece of history kept alive. Klaus walked over to me and gave me friendly punch in the arm, "Tesla! I'm glad you made it! Some of the other guys were talking about some really neat plan, and we wanted you to be the one to enact it." He was overly enthusiastic, but perhaps it was just because this was his first time in power armor.

I walked over to the running Vertibird to see all my friends. They each had something different about their armor, which was nice for each other to be identified. Sven had the head of a Glowing Radstag painted on one of his gauntlets; he says that it actually glows in the dark. The design was just brown paint with black detail; green paint outlined some of the points where Glowing Radstags had their unnatural green glow. Akira had a red glow to her lenses. The glow was most likely to see better in the dark or to track living targets, I would have to ask her about it once we had some free time. Griffin had a lightning bolt painted on his helmet over one of the eyepieces.

I was rather jealous of my friends, all their armor matched. I won't complain with what I got, the body all matched, it was not broken and had no real problems. The helmet I had did not match my armor. It was certainly not standard issue, but I was told it was actually stronger. Danse explained to me on the walk here that it was actually something he found once while on a mission. He said it was actually quite rare. I did notice that the headlamp light emitted through the eyes. I had some Ideas of what I wanted to do with it, but that would have to wait until later.

Griffin was showing off his lightning bolt to everyone who had eyes and making a rather big deal about how neat he thought it was. Akira turned around and decided to enlighten me to their devilish plan, "They say that you can jump off Vertibirds with power armor on, I was going to see if we could try it." Bad idea. Bad idea. Such a bad idea! It was so high up and so dangerous. Word got around as to what happened to Proctor Ingram in one of the earlier models, so I was definitely not eager to try it out. "Tesla! Just look at the drop." She dragged me over to where there was no railing. Danse looked on from over by the stairs, clearly amused by my fear.

I don't know how, but I just knew that this was some stupid ploy. Perhaps it was the way their voices were dripping with a sickeningly sweet tone, or the way that their words were so chipper. I looked over the edge while staying as far away as was physically possible. My thoughts were confirmed when I felt the kick paired with the sound of metal on metal.

I saw the ground getting closer and closer.

I screamed and kept my eyes on the fast approaching ground.

Time moved in slow motion. I knew that I was falling faster and faster the farther I got. I closed my eyes and held my breath, ready to fall to my death.

I heard the shockwave as my boots hit the ground. I straightened up and looked around; angry scientists and parts of the logistics team gave dirty looks as all their things went flying off tables and onto the floor. I was about ready to give some dirty gestures of my own. I looked up to the Prydwen to see my so-called friends jumping around and waving. They all stopped jumping when they saw me looking at them and begin to wave with extreme emphasis. Perhaps they were trying to out wave each other. I lifted my arm and flipped them the bird.

While they were so distracted with my obscene gesture, they did not notice Paladin Danse standing behind them. Each Knight went tumbling off the Prydwen in a similar way as I did. More of the ground crews were angrily shaking their fists and cursing. Lastly, the second most surprising thing to happen was the engine cut of the Vertibird and the last shock wave from Paladin Danse.

"Initiate Tesla, are you afraid of heights?" I stood still, my helmet providing the perfect poker face. "No." I'm sure that I had nervous body language. "Yes she is! That's why we pushed her off! A Knight can't be afraid of heights!" Akira yelled. My friends were awful, but I suppose they were loyal. "You guys are terrible! Scaring me like that!" I was not angry, I could never be mad with them; they were young, stupid, and full of life.

The rest of the day was spent focusing of fine-tuning weapons with the armor and other tedious tasks focusing on the use of the metal fingers. Danse was also focused on working with each of our fears. He made Akira face her fear of using armor underwater. We all participated, but she was forced to go back in several times throughout training. Griffin was afraid that if he ran out of power from his core that he would forever be trapped in the suit, so Danse took out the core and had him work the rest of the day like that.

Klaus was afraid of being knocked over and not being able to get back up. Danse solved this by having us run and tackle him to the ground every once in awhile. Sven was afraid of the wasteland creatures. He got book duty; reading up on every known creature and each of their weaknesses. I, being deathly afraid of heights, was pushed from Vertibirds and the Prydwen every chance that they had today. Klaus had the highest score of how many times he got to push me out of a moving object. I can safely say, while in my armor, I am no longer afraid of heights.

We stood in a line before Paladin Danse, tired and breathless. We were lined up from left to right: Akira, Sven, Myself, Klaus, Griffin. We each had our helmets tucked under an arm. We worked all day, but we all did well. "It is with high pride that I advance each of you to the rank of Knight. I shall assign you to your stations. If you wish to change, then request a meeting with Maxson or myself. Knight Akira," She stepped forward, "You are positioned to help guard the logistics division. This will keep you away from water and give you a relatively easy lifestyle. Do not get me wrong, there will still be plenty of work to be done." She spoke, "Yes sir! Thank you Sir!" and went back to her position in line.

"Knight Sven," Sven too stepped forward, "you will be positioned on a recon squad with some of the senior scribes. You can put your knowledge of wasteland creatures to good use; however, there most certainly will be no significant Danger." He saluted, something rarely done, "Thank you Sir! I shall cherish my knowledge sir!" He gets back into line, standing taller than before with a proud grin on his face.

It was my turn. I was nervous and my mind was racing. I thought of all our times together. I was worried that for once I could have a job that I was unhappy with. He cleared his throat, "Knight Tesla," I stepped forward and stood tall, "I have a choice for you." I was confused. Why was I being given a choice? "Elder Maxson sees potential in you. He has offered you a position as guard stationed on the Command Deck; but, you also have the option to continue working with my team as recon." I was not sure how to answer. "I know this is a difficult decision, so I will give you up until tomorrow morning to come up with a decision." I would have a lot to think about during the rest of the night. All I could manage to say hastily, "Thank you sir! I shall report my decision to you tomorrow morning sir!"

I did not pay much attention to what Klaus and Griffin got assigned to, but I was told during dinner that Klaus was assigned to the Cambridge Police Station and Griffin was being sent to a team that went around securing points within the Commonwealth.

I was off to bed. I had just finished polishing my armor and walked up to my cot. I had a lot to think about with this decision. Live in the lap of luxury and stay aboard the Prydwen or, stay with Danse and do the grunt work of the Brotherhood.


End file.
